Spent the afternoon with an individual that I have known for several decades. She has seen the very best of me and the very worst of me. In the late 1990s she came to me in the Watonwan County Assessor’s Office seeking information about a job posting. She sat in the chair opposite from me in a long tweed coat with a little black hat, complete with a veil perched upon her black hair. Renee got the position as my assessment clerk.
I am the fortunate one; I am retired. Renee is twenty years younger than me and has two children in high school. Way back when, her oldest child, Joe, was in kindergarten and now has his master’s degree and is a father of two little boys.
Employer and employee, not always the friendliest relationship to get the job done that was at hand. Somehow, Renee and I have weathered all the years and all the storms. I can empathize with her as perhaps no one else can as she is in the same department, but with more responsibilities than ever before.
It was an afternoon to share, to laugh, and to vent with the promise of getting together again some time.